Courtyard Houses: Longevity Since the War of Resistance

The next afternoon, before the end-of-get off work bell rang, the security office door was kicked open from the outside.

Banggeng, seven or eight resentful and indignant, came in. Li Feng was in charge of him.

With one kick, Bang Geng flew straight out of the office. When he came back in, he was much more obedient, only staring at the tip of his shoe.

Li Feng didn't even lift his eyelids; he simply gestured with his chin towards the corner of the wall. There, leaning against the wall, was a nearly worn-out broom and a dustpan with warped edges.

"Take it." Li Feng's voice was flat, revealing neither joy nor anger. "Go to the open space behind the building, by the wall. See it? The fallen leaves, scraps of paper, and pebbles on the ground are all yours. You can go home when you've cleaned it up."

Bang Geng suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief, incredulity, and utter disbelief.

He's Jia Geng! The only son of the Jia family!! The only male heir!!! The apple of his grandmother's eye!!! At home, he's the kind of person who wouldn't even pick up a fallen oil bottle.

Wash the dishes? Too cold.

Sweeping? Too tiring.

Now they're making him do this? This is even more upsetting than getting beaten up! He stood there, neck stiff, trying to resist with silence.

Li Feng didn't urge him. He casually picked up yesterday's newspaper from the table and began to read it slowly, as if Bang Geng didn't exist in the office at all. The clock on the wall ticked away, and the sky outside the window gradually darkened.

Banggeng's legs went numb from standing, and his stomach started to rumble. He finally realized that the person in front of him was different from the old man in the yard, his mother, and Shazhu. Fighting against him was like punching cotton, completely useless.

Reluctantly, he bent down, picked up the broken broom and dustpan, and staggered out of the office.

The open space wasn't actually that big, but for Banggeng, who had never done any serious work before, it felt like an endless sea of ​​suffering. He swung his broom haphazardly, pretending to be a martial arts master, only to kick away a pile of fallen leaves he had just gathered.

In no time, Banggeng had covered himself in dust, sweat mixed with dirt, leaving streaks of mud on his face. He felt incredibly frustrated. Usually at this time, he would have been home waiting for dinner, and if he was lucky, he might even get a few slices of meat from Shazhu's lunchbox, while his two younger sisters could only watch longingly.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and the more perfunctory her movements became. She resented her mother and grandmother for not coming to help her.

In fact, Qin Huairu had arrived half an hour earlier. As soon as she reached the security office, she pleaded with Li Feng in a low voice, "Section Chief Li, Section Chief Li, please have mercy! This child has never done this kind of work before. This is too heavy a job; he's too weak to handle it. Please, let me do it for him, okay? I promise I'll clean it spotless, without leaving a speck of dust!"

Li Feng's gaze remained fixed on the newspaper. "He's here to reform his thinking, not for sightseeing or leisure. The security department's duty is to carry out the factory's decisions, not to run a daycare center. Xiao Zhang," he called out to the door, "please ask this comrade to leave and not interfere with our normal work."

A young security officer responded and gestured for Qin Huairu to enter, his attitude polite but his eyes firm.

Qin Huairu had no choice but to turn back every few steps, wiping away her tears as she was seen out of the factory gate.

Bang Geng's biggest backer, Jia Zhangshi, never even showed her face from beginning to end. She would just sit cross-legged on her own kang (heated brick bed), cursing the heavens and the earth, wishing Li Feng would be childless and without descendants, but she would never dare to cause trouble at the steel mill's security department.

Banggeng's ideas that taking public funds is not stealing, that it's a waste not to take them, that everyone should help our family, and that a thief never leaves empty-handed, all stem from the teachings and example she imparted to her grandmother.

Bang Geng felt abandoned by the world. Li Feng strolled over to inspect the results, holding a steamed bun he had just bought from the cafeteria, filled with a thick layer of braised meat. He glanced at the messy floor and uttered two words: "Clean again."

The pent-up resentment, anger, and hunger instantly overwhelmed Banggeng's mental defenses. He slammed the broom to the ground, collapsed onto the dust, kicked his legs wildly, and burst into tears, wailing, "I quit! Waaah, kill me if you dare! Whoever wants to do this job can do it!"

Li Feng remained unperturbed, simply standing there, slowly and deliberately munching on his roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), the fragrant aroma of meat wafting into Bang Geng's nostrils. He watched like a spectator, waiting for Bang Geng to finish crying.

When Banggeng's dry howling turned into weak sobs, he slowly spoke: "Finished making a fuss? If you're done, get up and continue. These things on the ground won't just run into the dustpan by themselves. I have plenty of time; I can keep you company until dawn."

Bang Geng was utterly desperate. He knew that throwing a tantrum would be useless against the man in front of him.

Grandma and Mom's foolishness and their tantrums and rolling on the ground were both useless.

Struggling to his feet, he picked up the broom, wiped his tears and snot with his dirty sleeve, and began to clean up again, still clumsy, but at least he knew to sweep out the trash in the corners and gather the dust in one place. By the time he finally dumped that small pile of trash into the large earthen basket by the wall, it was completely dark, and the streetlights in the factory area had all come on.

"You can go now." Li Feng waved his hand, as if shooing away an annoying little dog.

Banggeng felt like all the bones in his body were about to fall apart. He was thirsty and hungry, and his throat felt like it was on fire. Dragging his legs, which didn't feel like his own, he trudged step by step toward the courtyard house. At that moment, only one thought occupied his mind: Go home! Quickly drink some water, eat a hot meal, and then collapse onto that hard bed!

Finally back in the courtyard house, he smelled the aroma of cornmeal porridge. Banggeng swallowed hard and used his last bit of strength to push open the door.

Jia Zhangshi was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) sewing shoe soles, while Qin Huairu was serving porridge by the stove. He rushed to the water vat, scooped up half a ladle of cold water and gulped it down. He felt a little more alive, then plopped down on a small stool and reached for the cornbread in the basket.

Just as the golden-yellow steamed bun was about to be brought to his mouth, a large hand suddenly reached out from behind, precisely grabbed him by the back of his neck, lifted him off the stool like a chick, and dragged him out of the house without saying a word!

It's Li Feng again!

"The factory's punishment is over." Li Feng's voice sounded particularly cold in the courtyard at night. He shoved a broom, which was bigger and heavier than the one in the factory, into Bang Geng's hand, and then pointed to the dark courtyard and the even darker alley outside the door.

"This is the neighborhood's punishment. You've been stealing chickens and dogs, repeatedly refusing to mend your ways, and have corrupted the neighborhood's atmosphere. Clean the entire yard, inside and out, thoroughly, without leaving a single leaf. Only after you've finished can you come in for dinner."

Bang Geng felt a buzzing sound, his vision went black, and he almost fainted on the spot. Finished work at the factory, and now he had to work again at home? And they wouldn't even let him eat? Was there no way he could survive?

"Grandma! Mom! Help!" he screamed, his voice filled with fear and despair.

The harsh curses from Jia Zhangshi inside the room abruptly ceased, leaving only some muttering. Qin Huairu rushed to the door, looked at Li Feng's expressionless face in the moonlight, her lips trembled for a long time, and finally said to Banggeng with a sob in her voice, "Banggeng, listen to... listen to Section Chief Li, sweep properly." She knew that if she went up to plead or make a scene at this time, it would only make her son suffer more.

Hearing the noise, Sha Zhu from across the hall pushed open the door and poked half his body out. He was about to shout something about whether there was any law or order, but when he met Li Feng's eyes, the excruciating kick to his stomach from yesterday seemed to start throbbing again. He immediately pulled his head back in, the door closed quietly, and there was no more sound.

The entire courtyard was eerily quiet.

Behind each window, there were prying eyes and whispers, but not a single light was lit for Banggeng, and no one turned around for him. Banggeng, the "good neighbor of China," was eliminated.

For the first time, Bang Geng truly experienced what it meant to be betrayed and abandoned by everyone, to be utterly alone. Gritting his teeth, large tears rolled down his cheeks, mingling with the grime on his face. He finally gave in, and with all his remaining strength, swung that heavy broom that felt like it weighed a thousand pounds once more.

Shh...shh...shh...

The monotonous sound of sweeping echoed through the courtyard, accompanied by intermittent sobs. To get home and eat that life-saving cornbread, they had no choice but to rely on this damned broom in their hands.

Li Feng, arms crossed, leaned against his doorframe, silently observing everything. He knew that to completely eradicate the crooked branches and rotten leaves that had already sprouted from this sapling, drastic measures would be necessary.

Don't rush to accept the joke, there's something even tougher waiting for you later.

You, Jia Zhangshi, can't escape either!